Spotting both Merry and Pippin gives Gimli +2 strength. This allows Gimli to get up to a reasonable strength 10 with just his axe, making Lockbearer a good choice for a tank version of Gimli. With the addition of Dwarven Bracers, a Hand Axe, and any number of copies of Toss Me, Gimli, Lockbearer can reach a high strength fairly easily, making him a consistent skirmisher for the Free Peoples side. In spite of this, it is generally necessary to build a whole deck around Lockbearer, as he needs to be able to spot both Merry and Pippin at all times to get the full effect of his ability.

From set 11 onwards, unbound hobbits other than Merry and Pippin were released, allowing Gimli to get much more use out of his ability, with the potential to spot up to 7 unbound hobbits instead of 2.